The Vingtaine de la Ville is one of the six vingtaine

Vingtaine

A vingtaine is a political subdivision of Jersey. They are subdivisions of the various parishes of Jersey, and one, La Vingtaine de la Ville , in Saint Helier is further divided into two cantons.St...

s of Saint Helier

Saint Helier

Saint Helier is one of the twelve parishes of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. St. Helier has a population of about 28,000, roughly 31.2% of the total population of Jersey, and is the capital of the Island . The urban area of the parish of St...

 in Jersey, and roughly corresponds to the historic town centre and harbours. It is divided into two cantons:

• Canton de Bas de la Vingtaine de la Ville
• Canton de Haut de la Vingtaine de la Ville

The Vingtaine de la Ville maintains an autonomous financial existence, unlike other vingtaines in Jersey, thanks to an endowment which has its origins in the purchase of Le Mont de la Ville by the British government in 1804. Formerly, Le Mont de la Ville, a craggy plateau overlooking the town of St. Helier, was topped by open common land used for grazing

Grazing

Grazing generally describes a type of feeding, in which a herbivore feeds on plants , and also on other multicellular autotrophs...

 and rabbit hunting. In 1785 part of the plateau was levelled as a parade ground, which led to the discovery of a dolmen

Dolmen

A dolmen—also known as a portal tomb, portal grave, dolmain , cromlech , anta , Hünengrab/Hünenbett , Adamra , Ispun , Hunebed , dös , goindol or quoit—is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of...

 which the vingtaine presented to the Lieutenant Governor of Jersey

Lieutenant Governor of Jersey

The Lieutenant Governor of Jersey is the representative of the British monarch in the Bailiwick of Jersey, a Crown dependency of the British Crown....

, Marshal Conway, who subsequently transported it to his estate at Henley-on-Thames

Henley-on-Thames

Henley-on-Thames is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, England, about 10 miles downstream and north-east from Reading, 10 miles upstream and west from Maidenhead...

 where it was re-erected. As it is now a listed monument in the United Kingdom, attempts to have it returned to Jersey have been to no avail. The continuing Napoleonic threat persuaded the British government to fortify the hill and Fort Regent was constructed. The proceeds from the sale established the original fund that lay at the foundation of the finances managed by the vingtaine's two elected procureurs today.

Until 1831, a large number of bodies and individuals in Jersey issued their own banknotes. The parishes of Jersey

Parishes of Jersey

The Channel Island of Jersey is divided into twelve administrative districts or parishes. All have access to the sea and are named after the saints to whom their ancient parish churches are dedicated.:* Saint Helier...

 issued notes, as did the Vingtaine de la Ville. Legislation in 1831 attempted to regulate such issues, but the parishes and the Vingtaine de la Ville were exempted from the regulatory provisions. Gradually, administrative and financial functions carried out by the vingtaine were taken over by the parish and by the States of Jersey

States of Jersey

The States of Jersey is the parliament and government of Jersey.The Assembly of the States of Jersey has exercised legislative powers since 1771, when law-making power was transferred from the Royal Court of Jersey....

.

Elections

For electoral purposes

Elections in Jersey

Elections in Jersey take place for the Assembly of the States of Jersey and at parish-level. Various parties have been formed over the years in Jersey, but few candidates stand for election affiliated to any political party. All elections in Jersey use the First-past-the-post voting system...

, St. Helier is divided into 4 districts. The Vingtaine de la Ville forms District No. 1 and elects 3 Deputies to the States of Jersey.

Heritage

Despite the effects of inflation and the passage of time, the funds available to the vingtaine are still sufficient to enable small-scale heritage projects to be undertaken.

The vingtaine has its own website here, which contains sites of historical interest, maps, and details of plaques.

In all there are over 50 plaques and features in the Vingtaine that have been erected to commemorate people and/or events that have a special place in the history of the Island or the Vingtaine.